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Jean Jacobson, may I ask who your father is? I am new to this site and am trying to get caught up. What was his connection to the bridge if you do not mind sharing it?

Marion, thank you I will try and get an email out to him tonight. I have enjoyed reading his accounts.

Hello Hape4me!

My Dad is Jean Henry Dasburg. Sadly he died in 2008 and he never got to know (how the story ended) what happened to all of the Prisoners (so many non ambulatory) at the Siegburg Lazarett - Stalag 6 G.

He escaped with another gentleman on March 15th, 1945 and eventually made it to the Allied lines on March 21st. Dad's intent was to tell the Allied's to not bomb Siegburg (a constant target) and the Abbey where so many American wounded men were being held and medically treated as best they could be with so little resources available.

Because of the damage done by a bomb, around March 6th, the barbed wire around the Abbey had been nearly flattened in some places, and knowing the Americans were getting closer - he took his chances.

He appears to have been debriefed in or near Remagen. And there is a photo of him being served some food by a member of the 78th Division. My research continues - and thanks to the crossing of the Bridge at Remagen the Allieds were able to get closer!

This is a Fantastic site! And so much of my Dad's story has come together because of this site! I am eternally grateful!

Jean Alice

What an experience this has been for me. Marion is the best as we all know and she came through again for me. Without her web site I would have given up on learning anything about my Uncle several years ago. Lets face it. The 341st Engineer General Service Regiment didn't get any headlines either then or now. In fact I thought I had learned all that I could when Howard was kind enough to share his Col. Coe's memoirs with me and us. That started it and then out of the blue I receive about 60 pages or so from Nick Pipers (the man who adopted my Uncles grave). Not sure why the Army sent them to him but he was kind enough to send them on to me. These documents filled in all the remaining holes in my research. So thank you one and all for everything.

Parker

Be sure to check out his uncle's page here: http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/GeorgeChandler.htm

And Larry, thank you again for your kind words. I sure appreciate hearing that.

I do need to clear up one detail. Uncle George was never a part of the 7th Infantry. The patch he is wearing in the picture is what got all this started. This is the story: My Mom was still alive and I was telling her that I was stumped by the patch. Mom started laughing and said that George and his friend (also a Engineer) had gone to town while he was home on leave and decided to have their picture taken. My Uncle thought his friends uniform jacket looked better then his and so used his friends jacket for the picture. I had wasted a lot of time trying to figure this out and she thought it was very funny. You would have to have known my Mom to fully understand but she got a kick out of it.

Parker

That is hysterical. I should add your story to his page. People would just love it.

Mom was very happy that I had become interested in my Uncle George and was trying to find out more about him. She was delighted that someone had adopted his grave and that Margraten was so beautiful. She did not trust the internet and neither do I to a point. But Marion, she did believe (after a time) that you were the real deal. She was well read and thought the people in Europe defaced and otherwise disrespected the graves of our guys. After I showed her a picture of Nick beside Georges grave and how beautiful everything was she changed her mind. She was very pleased. I will cherish that because she adored her older brother.

Parker

That is so wonderful to hear. You know, I've wondered about that before; if certain people mistrusted my motives. Maybe a daughter thought I wanted something from her father? Maybe to be left something in a will. Maybe a wife thought, what is this woman truly after? And you know what, that is okay, for you have to be a bit leery to get through this world.

I am alright with the internet. It's not a bad place, but like anything else in the world, it can be. I always tell people, you are going to run into a bad teacher, a not so impressive accountant, a terrible doctor or a scoundrel of an automotive repairman, etc. at least once in your life. The world is filled with good and bad, you just have to be wise and be on your toes. Without the internet, I would have never discovered all I know about my father and I would never have met all the wonderful veterans, nor have all the connections I do today. You and I would have never had to the chance to know each other and...

I know I am getting slightly off topic here, but earlier this year I was contacted by a daughter of a veteran who passed away. I had known him for years and we were very close, but I had never met his daughter. I knew he had several children, but he didn't bring them up much. However I was friends with his wife.

When I first met him he told me that his kid's weren't all that interested in his WWII history. Well unfortunately, it is not that unusual as we all know by now. Sad, but true. And that is one of the reasons he and I grew so close. He was so happy and so pleased that I was sharing his memoirs and taking an interest in him.

Anyhow, after he passed, I received a letter from his daughter, stating that she thought it unfair that I had his photos, stories, etc., and she wanted me to return them. She stated that any items I had belonged to her son. As you can imagine I was quite upset and yes, even angry. Here was someone that popped her head out after nine years and was making demands. Had she even seen his page while he was alive. From the sounds of her letter, I do not think she even knew about it, but only discovered it by going through correspondence after he died. I did not answer right away, for I knew I might say something that I shouldn't. So I waited until I had a chance to think.

I finally composed a very nice email and explained that any information he shared with me, he shared with the world and she and her family were free to download any items, including his entire story. I explained that we developed a very close relationship over a nine year period and that he freely chose to share certain things with me out of love, friendship and respect. I kept it short and sweet. I wanted to say, "where the hell have you been all this time, little missy", but you know I would never do anything like that.

I did hear back from her about a week later and she backed down. She thanked me for writing back to her and said they would access his page and her son could share it at school, etc.

I never said anything to the wife, for I know she would have been angry with her daughter. I didn't need to.

However, I did consult with several of my colleagues who also share veteran's stories and take them under their wings, and several of them divulged that they had undergone similar situations. They all told me, don't you dare give anything back, for HE wanted you to have these things. If he wanted his daughter to have them, he would have given them to her. He trusted you and you had a very special relationship. He gave you everything out of love and respect and all your correspondence is a treasure. It's YOURS!

Anyway, wanted to share that with you. It was the first time I had ever run into that type of thing.

I can imagine that happens a lot. I would give anything to have more time to talk to my grandfather about WWII. I've posted here before that like many WWII vets, the subject was something we were told as kids was something he didn't want to talk about. I got the chance to talk to him about it once and I wish there were more. I can't imagine not wnating to know at all. If the same thing happened to me (with a child who didn't care demanding stuff they never cared about before) I would be furious, too. Waiting to respond was certainly a good idea!

Ya, I try to do that with everything. Never jump and respond immediately, for you usually regret what you say, later.

Yes, it's hard for many of us to believe that a veteran's child could care less about their father's service, but I see it all the time. What can you say.

Todd, what we would give to have a sit down with your grandfather or my father. I think about it all the time. Yes, mine did talk about things that transpired, but it all happened when I was so young.